microbiological

IPA/ˌmaɪkrəʊˌbaɪəˈlɒdʒɪkl/
IPA/ˌmaɪkrəʊˌbaɪəˈlɑːdʒɪkl/

microbiological — adjective

  • microbiologicalpositive
  • more microbiologicalcomparative
  • most microbiologicalsuperlative

1. involving the examination of tiny living organisms like bacteria and viruses; be

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

involving the examination of tiny living organisms like bacteria and viruses; belonging to the field of microbiology

Example

Niran performs routine microbiological tests on drinking water samples at a government laboratory.

attributive: microbiological + tests; pattern: routine microbiological [noun]

The hospital outbreak was traced to a contamination that only a detailed microbiological analysis found.

Common collocations
  • microbiological testing
  • microbiological analysis
  • microbiological research
  • microbiological laboratory
  • microbiological examination
  • microbiological safety
Synonyms
  • microbial

    narrower — refers to the organisms themselves rather than the science (e.g., 'microbial growth')

  • bacteriological

    more specific — relates only to bacteria, a subfield of microbiology

Antonyms
  • macrobiological

    relating to organisms visible to the naked eye; very rare outside technical use

Grammar Patterns

microbiological + [noun]

Usage Note

This adjective is most commonly used before a noun (attributive position). Predicative use, as in 'the analysis was microbiological', is possible but far less frequent in natural English.

Common Mistakes

The lab did a microbiological analysis on the water.
The lab performed a microbiological analysis of the water.
'analysis on' is non-standard; use 'analysis of'.
He studied microbiological.
He studied microbiology.
'microbiological' is an adjective, not a noun. The name of the field is 'microbiology'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Microbiological is the broadest technical term, covering the scientific study of all microscopic organisms including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. Microbial is a more common adjective that refers specifically to the microorganisms themselves rather than the academic discipline — for example, 'microbial growth' describes how the organisms behave, while 'microbiological analysis' describes the laboratory method used to study them. Bacteriological is more specific again, focusing only on bacteria, which is one subfield of microbiology. Biological is the broadest of the four, covering all living things regardless of size. A practical distinction: a 'microbiological examination' implies lab equipment and culture techniques for very small organisms, whereas a 'biological examination' could refer to any living system from plants to mammals.

microbiological ↗microbial ↗bacteriological ↗biological ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

The word combines the prefix micro- (from the ancient Greek 'mikros', meaning 'small') with biological (from Greek 'bios' meaning 'life' and '-logia' meaning 'study of'). The term rose into use in the late 1800s as the science of microbiology was being established as a formal discipline.